The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
KHARTOUM, SOUTH SUDAN | THE INDEPENDENT | South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit has assured President Museveni of his commitment to implementing the revitalized peace agreement signed in 2018 that ended the fighting in that country.
In a statement issued by the Ugandan Presidential Press unit, Kiir said he doesn’t want the resumption of fighting in South Sudan. For over two months now, South Sudan has been tilting towards a resumption of the civil war that started in 2013 when Kiir accused his former deputy, Dr Riek Machar, of fomenting a coup. The resultant war UN estimates, caused the death of about 400,000 people and uprooted a million others from their homes.
Many are sheltering in refugee settlements in Uganda and other neighbouring countries, while millions of others are internally displaced. The fear of resumption of the civil war has even heightened with the house arrest of Machar and his wife Angelina Teny, in Juba.
In the statement, by PPU, Museveni, who recently sent the UPDF, was briefed on the security situation in South Sudan. “The two leaders engaged in bilateral talks addressing topics of peace and security, as well as socio-economic issues and the political landscape. During the meeting held in the capital, Juba, the leaders discussed the current security situation in South Sudan. President Museveni was also briefed on the status of the implementation of the peace agreement. The government of South Sudan assured the President and his delegation of its commitment to implementing the 2018 revitalised peace agreement,” the statement reads in part.
It also adds that the two leaders agreed to harmonise trade policies, particularly regarding non-tariff barriers and the taxation of small commodities traded across the border between the two nations.
John Mulimba, Uganda’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in charge of Regional Affairs, is quoted in the statement as saying that they held discussions on issues of commerce and trade, including social and economic matters. “We had a cordial meeting touching on issues between our two governments that are of mutual benefit,” said Mulimba.
Museveni’s delegation included the 1st Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs, Rebecca Kadaga, the Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Jacob Oboth Oboth, Senior Presidential Advisor on Defence and Security, Gen. Proscovia Nalweyiso; Uganda’s Ambassador to South Sudan, Brig. Gen. Ronnie Balya, among others.
Uganda has been central in propping up the government of South Sudan.
Starting in 2013, the UPDF was deployed in South Sudan to help beat back the forces of Machar that had by then captured several states and were just a few kilometres outside Juba, the capital.
Other than the personal relationship that Museveni has had with the SPLM starting way back in the 1980s when it was still a rebel movement, South Sudan is currently Uganda’s leading export destination.
Hundreds of millions are earned from the sale of Ugandan products and services in South Sudan, hence making the country have a huge interest in the stability of South Sudan.
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